I feel as though I can't truly begin The Scuba Diaries without dedicating an entry to the start of my Utila journey. It has shaped who I am as both a person and diver, made me realise my dream career and gave me a dive family for life.
I first stumbled across the month-long marine conservation internship with the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center (WSORC) back in March 2016, in an effort to distract myself from writing my university dissertation. I was on a path to pursue a career in the film industry, but I was seeking an overseas educational adventure to satisfy my travel bug before plunging into a full-time office job in London. Within the hour I had sent over my deposit for the internship and booked flights to Honduras.
[Flying into Utila over the Cays]
Fast forward 3 months and I'm making my solo trip to a country I couldn't have pointed out on a map not long ago (as embarrassing as that is to admit). The route to Utila is by no means straight forward, and after four flights and many lengthy connections, I made it to the island greeted by the WSORC team.
At this point I had my open water certification and a whopping 7 logged dives under my belt; this meant that I had to first complete my advanced course before the internship began. The course was a blast, I was in a large group and little did I know that my instructor and MSDT would soon become my colleagues and close friends; I just wish I could watch it back now as an instructor just to see how my buoyancy was!
[Advanced course graduation photo with instructor Donna and MSDT Bob]
Equipped with my fresh scuba skills I started my internship, kicking it off with a tour of the island (it's tiny) and getting stuck in by learning the local marine species. Less than a week into my internship I had my first whale shark encounter. We had been patrolling around the island in search for any signs of big fish activity and just as were going to call it a day, Captain Albert spotted a feeding frenzy. The encounter was fast, emotional and magical: queue a lot of happy tears. After that experience, the thought of extending my trip another month to complete my rescue course and divemaster training didn't seem too far-fetched.
So that's exactly what I did! Who needs to attend their university graduation anyway? My divemaster internship was intense, it flew by and I learnt so many transferable skills as well as made friends for life. One of the best experiences I had during my DMT was being involved with the Bay Islands College of Diving IDC. Due to there being one candidate that month, the course director (@padicoursedirectorsja) organised for some of us to act as students so the instructor candidate could practice her confined and open water presentations. Little did I know how useful this would prove down the line...
[During my DMT assisting on the July 2019 IDC simulation at Neptune's]
Towards the end of my internship I was offered a position at The College working as a divemaster. At this time everything had been moving at such a fast pace; in a matter of months I had gone from having just 7 dives to working within the industry as a dive professional, having the responsibility of leading others and teaching refresher courses. Though I was beside myself with excitement and gratitude for this opportunity, I was relieved to hear that I was to complete a 2 week internship beforehand through the Utila Lodge, closely following and watching their resort dive guide. These weeks were physically demanding, loading tanks for large groups of up to 30 guests and diving all day, but what I learnt from the DM about how and where to find marine life and all the tips and tricks he had accumulated from growing up on these reefs, was priceless.
[The end of my internship with DM Willie and Captain Albert]
I ended up working as a divemaster for 5 months before progressing onto my instructor course, and to this day I am so pleased that I waited and gained that experience before continuing my scuba career. Within this time I learnt to navigate Utila's dive sites, I was entirely comfortable with leading divers ranging from all abilities and group sizes, and I could not only identify local marine species but also knew where to find them.
It's worth me stating here that for many people seeking a career in diving, it is completely reasonable to transition straight from your divemaster training to your instructor course. In fact, for many people this situation is better as they can directly transfer those skills without delay or risk of getting rusty with neither their theory or skills. Though as I mentioned, the journey for me had already moved so quickly that I personally needed time for my confidence to catch up with my experience and to just dive as much as possible.
My IDC was hands down my favourite PADI course to date. This is most definitely down to having an incredible course director (@divesaga) as well as being teamed with fellow candidates who were dedicated to getting the job done. The experience from assisting on the IDC back in July really came in handy here: certain tips and feedback had stuck with me: for example having to always give positive reinforcement to the student *PADI punch*, followed by a reminder of how to improve the skill (we even made a 'notsosecret' handshake out of these signals which we repeated for the duration of our IDC as a reminder for the exam).
I remember feeling a bit of pressure going into the instructor exam as a staff member, knowing that the new position awaiting me relied on the outcome! Though my feelings were valid, I need not have worried because we had all been so well prepared for the exam and passed with flying colours. The day I became an instructor was one of the happiest of my life, I'll always remember that feeling of achievement and pride.
[We passed! 6 new PADI OWSI's]
It makes me rather emotional reflecting back on the whirlwind which was those first 6 months on Utila, the start of my scuba career.
This brings me to the end of my lengthy diary entry. I also went on to do my MSDT training as well as become a Staff Instructor and NGO Program Manager, but I'll leave those stories for another day.
Safe diving & happy dreaming,
A.
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